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Resident Evil (Biohazard): Degeneration (2008)

Sure it watches like a compilation of cut scenes from past games, and sure in some cases it’s an attempt at a reboot for the series, but all I could think about while watching “Regeneration” is: Was this so fucking hard to do for fans and general horror fans? We had to suffer through three really bad derivative quasi-horror films and now we’re given a virtually completely animated movie that just gets it right. Why is it so hard to release this and let us endure Paul WS Anderson’s butchery in the first place? “Degeneration” pretty much sums up its goal from the opening shot where WilPharmacy’s have taken over the city leaving where Raccoon City left off.

We’re introduced to Claire Redfield one of the survivors of the original games left to life of monotony and early retirement. From the outset all isn’t well and the shit hits the fan as zombies are born in the hysteria in the middle of an airport leaving Claire to once again fight off a horde of flesh eaters. Though I’m still insistent that the film feels more like a pastiche of cut scenes from a potential title, the animation is absolutely fantastic. If folks are still searching for that atmosphere from the good old days of RE, they’ll definitely find it here with character designs that are both immaculate and sleek on the screen.

The introduce of Leon Kennedy is also a great move as we team past characters to uncover the corruption of yet another giant corporation leaving Americans to be left under the grasp of the walking dead. I was rather impressed most of the time at how expressive the characters were and found myself pulling the hairs from my scalp at the sheer tension brought to the screen that I expected from the big screen adaptation. The zombie designs are magnificent with the classic “Resident Evil” molds at hand. The voice work also excels with folks like Paul Mercier and Alyson Court taking on the roles of Claire and Leon with sheer precision and skill.

Though it does deviate in the final half in to government corruption it does serve a purpose to the whole zombie outbreak, as we’ve seen in past video games. “Degeneration” isn’t just a plotless light show from the likes of “Appleseed,” it’s an actual movie that blows every shred of the live action films away and provides some truly creepy zombie grue in the process. Whether you’re a fan of the video game series or just a random horror geek looking for zombies, monsters, and excellent animation, turn to “Resident Evil: Degeneration” for kicks; I rather enjoyed seeing a movie adapted to a video game with such ease.